Revealed: The finalists for the judges-awarded categories of the 2017 JLT Restaurant Awards

In addition to the 16
publicly voted categories, the 2017 JLT Restaurant Awards also featured three judges-awarded categories: Most Unique
Concept, Best Newcomer, and Best Overall.

Online voting for the
Awards closed on 31st October 2017 and over 7,000 JLT residents,
office dwellers, and visitors voted for their favourite Jumeirah Lakes Towers
restaurants, cafes, and bars. After voting for the 16 public categories closed,
the judges swung into action to determine the shortlist for the three
judges-awarded categories.

In the “Most Unique
Concept” category, the judges looked at concepts that are unique to JLT and
cannot be found in the same manner anywhere else in Dubai. They also looked at
restaurants that provide an environment that seamlessly gels with the food and
service offered. The finalists for this category are: Café
Funkie Town and Bait
Maryam.

The “Best Newcomer”
category targeted restaurants that opened in JLT in the past 12 – 18 months.
The finalists for this category are: Le
Petit Belge and Wolf
& Friends Lounge.

Lastly, for the “Best
Overall” category, the judges looked at the online votes, but also took into
account the overall popularity of restaurants among Dubai’s foodies, customer
ratings, and the quality of the food and service. The finalists for this category
are: Mythos Kouzina &
Grill and Bait
Maryam.